Andalusian Nights

Imagine if I you and a friend were arguing about whether it's morally wrong to murder someone, and then suddenly your friend shouts "well, there's no one true morality!", undermining any further discussion on the subject.  Absurd, right? Also, not very common. It's rare to find anyone who would seriously take this position. However, when it comes to religious beliefs -- particularly Islam -- cri tics and supporters alike tend to invoke the idea of "no true Islam". And why is this a problem? Because a bunch of mutually exclusive interpretations placed under one umbrella does not make a coherent concept. For instance, you cannot believe Islam simultaneously approves of and condemns terrorism. You cannot believe Islam simultaneously rejects the idea of the Qur'an being divine and promotes it. Contradictions aren't rational nor do they possess any meaning.  In other words, saying there is "no true Islam" is like believing th...

In Part 1 we examined the basic arguments for God’s existence, the concept of the  fitrah  – otherwise known as ‘intuition’ – and how it works. [1]  In this part we will elucidate the justification behind the intuition’s existence, how evidence is not always necessary, and how belief in God is intuitively justifiable. Does the  Fitrah  Actually Exist? The philosophical support behind the intuition is based on the recognition that: (1) there are such things as ‘reality’ and ‘knowledge’, and (2) that human beings can grasp both at a normative level of cognition. In regards to the first, without acknowledging these concepts, then there would be no point to intellectual discourse at all. The author of this treatise would be wasting his time and his words would ultimately have no real meaning. Likewise, the reader would have no real reason to disagree or agree with the points herein and would suffer from a terrible conflict of apprehending something that he o...

God’s existence, or lack thereof, has been debated throughout human history. Theists and atheists alike have offered their best arguments to justify their positions on the matter, with most philosophers concluding that the discussion thus far has only resulted in a stalemate. Although the majority of the world concurs with the proposition that God does indeed exists, overwhelming support should not be considered a determinant in any debate; even if the majority of the world were atheists, this would not settle the question as to who is right or wrong. In fact, despite still being the minority view, atheism is on the rise globally, having become the fastest growing position on faith and religion in almost every society on the planet. This has especially been the case within Muslim-majority societies; with an overall 3% declaring themselves atheists, another 3% declaring that they are undecided, and 20% declaring that they are non-religious in general. [1]  These facts have star...